Cleaning the glass door in a MES 30"

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just george

Fire Starter
Original poster
Nov 25, 2013
31
13
Oceanside, California
Greetings from Oceanside, CA. 

Just bought a new 30" MES with a glass door.  After 3 smokes the film is getting hard to remove.  Anyone have a solution to removing the film?

Thanks and keep on Smokin'

Just George
 
I rarely clean the glass of my MES 40.  Why bother?  But if I were to do so, I'd probably use very hot water steamed rags or ??????  Do you realize how many wonderful smokes it took me to get the glass to look like that?   And erase it?   Now?
 
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Being a new MES40 owner I've cleaned it with ashes from the pellets and a wet paper towel.  It isn't difficult work but it's more difficult than what I would like.

I THINK I may take the razor blade glass cleaning route.  When cleaning glass of sticky or stubborn stuff there are devices you put a razor into and just scrap.  As long as I don't hit the rubber around the glass I should be able to clean 95% of it safely with less effort than scrubbing with ashes and wet paper towels.

Obviously I'll hit with a wet towel at the end :)

I hope this gives some food for thought.
 
I rarely clean the glass of my MES 40.  Why bother?  But if I were to do so, I'd probably use very hot water steamed rags or ??????  Do you realize how many wonderful smokes it took me to get the glass to look like that?   And erase it?   Now?
Is that like ruining a $100 drunk on a $20 meal lol.
 
There's another thread about this subject on here somewhere. And a lot of different ideas.

What I've found to work well is a teaspoon or two of TSP in a cup of warm water on a rag.

TSP is trisodium phosphate. You can usually find it in the paint department of a hardware or "home store".

Do NOT get the all-too-common "TSP substitute". It is NOT the same. Read the label carefully, the manufacturers are sneaky with this. It would be very easy to end up with the fake stuff and not realize it until you got home due what I consider to be very misleading labels. Because TSP is a phosphate, it is a plant nutrient (good fertilizer). Thus, if it gets into waterways, it can fertilize aquatic plants and algae, contributing to algal blooms, which can be a bad thing. This is why efforts have been made to eliminate it from household cleaners and detergents. So manufacturers have had to come up with substitute formulas for their cleaning products.

But in some cases, the good old phosphate is far superior. This is one such case, for sure.

Because it is such a good grease-cutter, it will dry your skin out terribly. So use rubber gloves. And as with many products, you should avoid getting it in your eyes. Eye protection is probably a good idea.

I just toss the leftover solution out into my yard where it fertilizes my grass and bushes, so it doesn't find its way into the river here. No guilt!

A carton of TSP will last you years because you use so little, and it's fantastic for cutting grease, oil, and that tarry creosote that builds up in a smoker.

Wipe the surface down with the TSP and let it work for a little while, then hit it again, and it works very easily and well. I then wipe the surface down with plain water a couple of times to rinse off any cloudy residue.

I've also used cheap rot-gut vodka to good effect, but it evaporates too quickly.

I let my window get totally cruddy for a few years, and when I finally decided to clean it, the TSP was the winner out of everything I tried.

I do find that being able to see into the smoker is a plus for judging smoke and air flow.
 
Well I sure have many great answers very quickly.  Thanks so much.

This is my first smoker with a glass door.  And as Sigmo stated above, it is nice to see what's going on inside. Not just the smoke and air flow but just to see the changes being made.  I'm sure I'll get over it after another 10 or 15 smokes.  But for now I'll try to keep lookin'.

Thanks a bunch guys and Keep on Smokin.'
 
If you clean it each time you use it & don't let the gunk get too thick.

Rubbing alcohol on a paper towel will clean it right off.

If it's real thick then a razor blade first to get most of it, then finish with the alcohol.

Al
 
Whatever you scrape off with a razor blade, I wonder if you could use it later for a smoked seasoning over some taters. 
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Whatever you scrape off with a razor blade, I wonder if you could use it later for a smoked seasoning over some taters. 
yahoo.gif
Hah!

Hmm.  Actually that doesn't sound like a completely bad idea at all.

I read an article somewhere showing how "they" make liquid smoke.  It really wasn't all that different from what you propose!

However, if you haven't tried it yet, I can highly recommend making some smoked butter.  It's a cold smoke process, of course.  I made some a while back and froze most of it.  We're still working on it, and it's fantastic on a lot of things.  On taters, it would likely be just fantastic.
 
I've tried almost everything imaginable   and the best thing I have found if you clean your glass after every smoke and with the glass just barely warm is this Simple Green product in the aerosol can. It starts melting  the film on the glass immediately. I then wipe it off with a bounty paper towel and then water and Bounty paper towels and glass is clean. 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Simple-Green-60014-BBQ-Grill-Microwave-Cleaner/21797891

A second choice that works really well si Magic Eraser, but more expensive than the Simple Green.
 
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Thanks to everyone who sent a reply.  I'll be home this weekend and I am sure my door glass window will be as good as new.  You guys are great and nothing equals the experience you have. 

Thanks again and . . . . . . . . Keep on Smokin'
 
Previous threads on this subject

cleaning the glass on my MES?

Here's a really long thread:

MES Window Cleaning Solution

My recommendation: isopropyl alcohol. You don't need to get the super-pure variety, so simple grocery store rubbing alcohol will do. As I mentioned when I posted this tip in other threads, I've talked to lots of people who clean glass for a living, including those who detail cars, and isopropyl alcohol is their secret for getting streakless results. In your case, you simply want something that melts away the crud without having to spend a lot of time rubbing, and which is not going to be toxic or leave a taste in food. Isopropyl alcohol is all of those things.
 
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Well guys, the time has come to thank all of you for your replies.  I tried many of the solutions and ended up with the alcohol.  I just put it in a spray bottle and after a few squirts the glass is clean as new.  I know, glass may not be the best idea.  BUT, I like to see what's going on. 

Again, thanks to all.
 
I just repaired a friend's MES. The door hadn't been done in ages. It took awhile for the alcohol to work, but I tipped the smoker on its right side so I could lay the door flat (it was open). I then squirted enough alcohol on the window so it covered the window (it doesn't take much because its low surface tension lets it spread out quickly and easily). After 5-10 minutes I wiped it up. Easy.

Then, to make sure the smoker was really fixed, I did a few smokes. It took only about twenty seconds after each smoke to get the glass squeaky clean (literally).

I also did the light cover and outlet vent as well.
 
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If it gets real bad, I use a Razor Blade scraper, like a "Widget".

Then it's easy to clean using whatever cleaner you want to use.

Windex

Alcohol

Wood stove Ashes & water on a Paper towel (Works Best!!)

Bear
 
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